Sisi to discuss peace process with Abbas

CAIRO – 5 November 2017: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will meet President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi on Monday to discuss the peace process between the Palestinians and Israel, a Palestinian diplomat said on Saturday.

Abbas is scheduled to arrive in Sharm El-Sheikh on Sunday for the World Youth Forum.

Abbas’s visit is considered the first after Egypt brokered a deal between Fatah and Hamas in mid-October to advance reconciliation.

Late in October, a delegation from the National Palestinian Government, headed by director of the Border Crossings Authority, Nazmi Mehanna, has arrived in Cairo to discuss taking control of the Egypt-Gaza border crossing from Hamas’ Movement, a high-profile official requesting anonymity told Egypt Today on Sunday.

The delegation’s visit comes in the aftermath of the recently achieved inter-Palestinian reconciliation, which was brokered by Egypt. As per the condition, the Palestinian Authority should assume responsibility of the all border crossings by November 1.

On October 3, the consensus government held its first cabinet meeting in Gaza.

Despite a number of attempts to reconcile the Palestinian split led by international and Arab efforts, only Egypt, with its historical and political position, was able to bring an end to this nightmare. Egypt managed to bring the conflicting Palestinian factions to overcome their differences, creating new conditions away from the fear of exclusion.

Egypt helped the factions realize that they need to move forward towards a partnership based on the fact that Palestine is for all Palestinians.